


Not So Bad

by CelesteFitzgerald



Category: Arthur (Cartoon)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Sick Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 05:29:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20334847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelesteFitzgerald/pseuds/CelesteFitzgerald
Summary: Nigel is sick, but Patrick is there to take care of him.





	Not So Bad

As quietly as he could, Patrick opened the door to his and his husband’s bedroom—Nigel was asleep, and he didn’t want to wake him.

…Or, at least, Nigel _should_ have been asleep. When Patrick stepped inside, he saw Nigel tossing and turning on the bed. Patrick hated seeing him sick like this, but he knew that his own pain was nothing compared to what Nigel felt. The illness itself wasn’t the worst part for Nigel—the part that really tore him up was having to stay home from school. It had been three days now since Nigel had seen his students, and it was making him miserable.

Patrick took a seat on the bed and brushed his hand over Nigel’s forehead. “How are you feeling?”

With a heartbreaking sigh, Nigel looked up at him and coughed. “Worse.”

“You need to stop worrying about your class—Rodentia’s taking good care of them. All this stress is only making you sicker,” Patrick said as gently as he could—he knew his words wouldn’t be well received.

Nigel narrowed his eyes. “How can I _not_ worry about them? They’re my kids, Patrick.”

“I know,” Patrick said, grabbing Nigel’s hand. “But you’ve taught them well—they can take care of themselves.”

“That’s not the point,” Nigel grumbled, but he squeezed Patrick’s hand back anyway.

“Just try to relax and get some rest, and you’ll be back on your feet before you know it,” Patrick said. “Do you need anything?”

That brought a smile to Nigel’s face. “You’ve already given me more than I could ever ask for,” he said, and Patrick supposed he was right—he had been spoiling Nigel for the past few days. After cooking him chicken noodle soup, re-fluffing his pillows, and getting him plenty of new books from the library, Patrick wasn’t sure what else he could do.

“In that case, why don’t we just take a nap?” Patrick said.

“We?”

“Of course,” Patrick said as he leaned back and draped an arm over Nigel’s shoulder. “I can’t let my husband suffer all by himself, can I?”

Nigel laughed and relaxed into Patrick’s side, his eyelids beginning to droop. “It’s not so bad,” he yawned. As Nigel fell asleep in his arms, Patrick couldn’t help but agree: it wasn’t bad at all.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was requested by cathyrentgearhead and an anon on tumblr <3


End file.
